Aoi Tsubaki (津場木 葵, Tsubaki Aoi) is a college student and the main character of Kakuriyo no Yadomeshi. She is the granddaughter of Shirō Tsubaki and has inherited his strong spiritual powers and ability to see ayakashi since she was very young. She has been living in the Apparent Realm (Utsushiyo) since young but was later whisked away to the Hidden Realm (Kakuriyo) by the ogre god, Ōdanna, as his contracted bride-to-be (being collateral for her grandfather's debt). Since negotiating to repay the debt herself, she has started running her own restaurant business, Moonflower, with Ginji.
Appearance
Aoi is described as a beautiful young woman in her college years with purple eyes and shoulder-length brown hair with bangs mostly swept to the right of her forehead. Ever since arriving in the Hidden Realm (Kakuriyo), she often received many comments about her closely resembling her grandfather, Shirō Tsubaki, in terms of his inherited strong spiritual powers and certain personality traits.
When she first arrived in the Hidden Realm (Kakuriyo), she was seen wearing a light blue colored dress with a bluish gray jacket. After beginning to work in Tenjin-ya, she is often seen donning the inn employee's grass green kimono with a purple sash around her waist; however, when she later got abducted and forced to work in Orio-ya for a time being, she is seen wearing an ombre light green-yellow kimono with a blue sash around her waist instead. She often pins her hair up into a bun adorned with the Ōdanna's gifted rose-quartz hairpin ornament when working in Tenjin-ya; but in Orio-ya, her hair is tied into a low ponytail instead using a ribbon. Yet, she is seen choosing to wear her hair down on certain occasions.
Personality
Aoi is a very kind, caring and friendly young woman, although that is not to say that she is shown to be stubborn when she feels the need to. This is best exemplified by her refusing to become the ogre-god, Ōdanna's bride, and choosing to negotiate to pay off her debt on her own. Being said to resemble her grandfather to a certain extent, she has inherited some of his personality traits.
She tends to help those around her, being determined since long ago to help ayakashi who she sees that needs help; she often used her cooking skills for this as she pointed out that it solely helps her to get closer to them. This can be seen from the occasions when she helped to take care and nurse such Tenjin-ya employees like Oryō and Akatsuki, and Orio-ya's employees like Nene and Ranmaru, back to health when most had disliked her in the beginning, some due to personal reasons. It is this odd trait of assisting people such like them that Ōdanna had commented being quite likened to Shirō.
Aside from this, Aoi's kind and caring personality can be seen from the many occasions she had intervened and assisted in solving some characters' personal dilemmas when she felt the need to lend a helping hand, mostly fueled by her past personal experiences. This often came in the form of mending and reconciling tense relationships like the strained father-son relationship between Hatori and his father, Matsuba-sama, adopted sibling relationship between Ginji and Ranmaru, or teacher-student relationship between Tokihiko and his female student, Shizuna. That said, her kindred nature is pointed out to closely resemble Shirō's in this aspect, minus his sly and cunning nature on the sideline; additionally, Hatori and Ōdanna had noted that how her kindred nature has extended to being understanding and keenly observant at those times she assisted in solving dilemmas.
Furthermore, Aoi has seemingly inherited Shirō's knack for wandering around recklessly such like getting lost in two market trips being accompanied with Ginji and Ōdanna. To pursue her goals, she becomes a bold, foolhardy person with the tendency of acting without thinking in certain situations, such like paying minor attention to the risks of handling the quests of acquiring certain ceremonial artifacts in Orio-ya, or springing to reckless action to prevent Ginji from leaving Tenjin-ya during the sudden arrival of Orio-ya's airship in Tenjin-ya. Plus, she also portrays her grandfather's playful nature through such like teasing and slightly embarrassing certain ayakashi in casual situations.
History
As a child, Aoi was able to see ayakashi, an ability inherited from her grandfather, Shirō Tsubaki. It was assumed that her mother was unable to bear or put up with her daughter's ability that she eventually abandoned her one day. Aoi, unknowingly abandoned by her mother at that time, was all alone and close to starving inside her old house for a certain period of time. Thankfully, she met a kind ayakashi who had given her food everyday until she was later found by social workers who brought her to live in an orphanage. It was hinted that Aoi had bad memories residing in the orphanage as the other orphans had singled her out for being a weird, strange and ugly girl who heard voices. Soon after, Shirō found her and adopted her. Under her grandfather's care, things seemingly changed for the better and Aoi continued growing up well thereafter. Prior to his death, Shirō taught Aoi how to cook according to the ayakashi's sweet and light food palate. After his death, Aoi had lived on her own till she went to college, only then to be whisked away by the ogre, Ōdanna, to the Hidden Realm (Kakuriyo) and start a new life there.
Plot
One day, shortly after the death of Shirō Tsubaki, Aoi gives a boxed lunch to a hungry oni (ogre/demon). To her surprise, he responds by whisking her away to the Hidden Realm where ayakashi live and declaring that she will become his bride. The oni introduces himself as Ōdanna and later explains that he is the master of an inn for ayakashi known as “Tenjin-ya”. Her grandfather, the only known human able to travel freely in between both the Apparent Realm (Utsushiyo) and Hidden Realm (Kakuriyo), had during his lifetime racked up a debt of 100 million yen at the inn. Lacking the money to repay the inn owner, Shiro had instead offered the hand of his granddaughter in marriage as collateral for his debt.
Furious and bewildered, Aoi refused to marry Ōdanna and declared that she will instead work off her debt by finding a job at Tenjin-ya. However, the various ayakashi employees treat her coldly and refuse to work with her. The sole exceptions are Kasuga and Ginji, a shapeshifting nine-tailed fox. Ginji used to own a restaurant on the inn’s grounds, but it failed due to a lack of customers. After the two bond over cooking for one another, Ginji suggests that Aoi reopen the restaurant and cook food from the human world, which ayakashi find extremely delicious.[1]
Powers & Abilities
(Aoi feeding hungry temari kappa in Utsushiyo)
Spiritual sight: Aoi had inherited her grandfather's strong spiritual powers, including the ability to see ayakashi, which is not visible to the normal human eye. In the Apparent Realm (Utsushiyo), she had grown up being able to see ayakashi since young and had a few past encounters and incidents with some ayakashi. In her past memories, her appeasing to the encountered hungry evil ayakashi with her delicious cooked food had apparently saved her life several times. Aside from using food to appease hungry evil ayakashi, she is mainly seen occasionally giving food and feeding to smaller weaker hungry ayakashi like the the group of temari kappa by a river she passed by daily, who are vulnerable preys to bigger hungry ayakashi. However, with the knowledge of her being a strong target for ayakashi, she often chooses to avoid eye contact and ignore bigger hungry ayakashi who pose as bigger threats to her safety.
(Aoi serving a Tengu banquet at Moonflower)
Cooking skills (spiritual energy food): Thanks to Shirō's emphasis on Aoi's cooking training since she came to live in his household, she has become an excellent cook with an ability to make spiritual energy food that ayakashi find delicious (sweet and light flavours) and that also helps to replenish and restore ayakashi's spiritual powers. Initially, Aoi was under the impression that her grandfather preferred the sweet and light flavoured food that ayakashi loved. However, it was only later when she met and conversed with both Matsuba Sama and Akatsuki in the Hidden Realm (Kakuriyo) that she realized that her grandfather had actually preferred strong, salty flavours and found the ayakashi's sweet and light food palate bland. Knowing Aoi would definitely be a strong target for ayakashi with her inherited strong spiritual powers, he had most likely trained her to cook accordingly to the ayakashi's sweet and light food flavours, a form of protection against them whenever she encountered them in the future. As a result, she had mentioned that cooking has become a sort of stress-reliever and favourite pastime for her, and she likes cooking for ayakashi as it solely helps her to get closer to them.
Relationships
Shirō Tsubaki
When sent to the adoption center, Shirō gladly took Aoi in and raised her. He taught her how to cook food which matches the sweet and light flavours ayakashi likes. She attended his funeral when he fell down the stairs and hit his head, having him sent to the hospital. She wanted to cook for him before he died, but his last meal was hospital food. It was Shirō's fault that Aoi has to live at Tenjin-ya in order to pay off the debt he left before he died. Aoi continues to learn move about her grandfather from the ayakashi she encounters in Tenjin-ya.
Ōdanna
While passing by, Aoi meets a masked man and gives him food. She then meets him again and is left a wrapped box as well as a rose-quartz hairpin ornament. She proceeds to open this and is sent to the hidden realm to be Ōdanna's bride. As collateral for Shirō's debt of 100 million yen, Aoi is forced to marry him. She immediately declines and decides to work to pay off her grandfather's debt.
Since arriving in Tenjin-ya, she has grown comfortable with Ōdanna and enjoys learning more about him as they spend more time together. At first, she feared him because he enjoys eating human girls, but soon she came to respect him. Aoi does develop feelings for the ogre that she struggles to admit to and she eventually stops correcting Ōdanna when he calls her his bride to others, proving how she’s grown comfortable with the idea of marrying him. The two almost kissed in their mission to obtain a mermaid scale, which Aoi would have let happen, had Ōdanna not pulled away first.
Ginji
Aoi meets Ginji on her first night at Tenjin-ya. He gives her food and shows her his shapeshifting abilities. Ginji is the one who urges Aoi to open her own restaurant so that she can earn the money needed to pay back her grandfather's debt. Ginji has proven to be a loyal friend and is always willing to help Aoi. Although many at Tenjin-ya are suspicious of Ginji, since he was originally from Orio-ya (a rival inn), Aoi is one of the only ones to fully trust Ginji.
Oryō
At first, Oryō does not like Aoi. Oryō also liked the master and didn't think Aoi was good enough to marry him. She also didn't think a human should be working at Tenjin-ya, as Oryō worked hard to get where she is at the inn. However, after Aoi cares for Oryō when she falls ill, the two become closer and Oryō comes to respect Aoi as a chef and a good person.
Akatsuki
Like most of the other staff at Tenjin-ya, Akatsuki doesn't think Aoi belongs at the inn. However, after Aoi nurses Akatsuki back to health, he comes to like her. He enjoys her cooking and even helped hang the new sign in Aoi's restaurant.
Byakuya
As chief of the accounting office of Tenjin-ya, Byakuya thinks Aoi is destined to fail in her attempts of opening up her eatery. However, after Aoi receives a successful review in a newspaper, the restaurant becomes prosperous, thus leading to Byakuya's respect. Aoi also caught Byakuya playing with the tube kittens in the forest, which he found embarrassing.
Chibi
Chibi is a Kappa Aoi is fond of. He later joins her in the hidden realm claiming to be her sidekick. He is devoted to Aoi and doesn't hesitate to join her on any of her adventures that she sets out on even if he is scared. He is always happy to eat cucumbers (and other foods) from Aoi.
Matsuba-sama
Hatori
Umi-bouzu
When Aoi calls for Chibi to come back, thinking he will disturb the umi-bouzu, the latter suddenly becomes sad and scared. Aoi further lifts the blinds to discover the small child with Chibi clinging to the umi-bouzu. Aoi touches the scared ayakashi and is given a vision of how lonely and hungry he always feels - a feeling that Aoi is empathetic to due to her own loneliness when she was a child. She then decides to gather everyone on the island to eat and share company with the umi-bouzu. Everyone has a good time until it is time for the umi-bouzu to return to the sea. Before he leaves, Aoi asks him if he wanted to stay with her but he cannot due to his job of protecting the Southern Land. He leaves, saying he will see them in 100 years - although Aoi notes she may not be around by then.
Etymology
- The name Aoi means "hollyhock, althea" (葵) (aoi).
- Aoi's surname Tsubaki means "haven, port, harbor, ferry" (津) (tsu), "place" (場) (ba) and "tree, wood" (木) (ki).
Trivia
- Aoi is afraid of thunder and lightning, due to the fact that she was abandoned by her mother at a young age.